Tuesday, October 25, 2011

where, oh where are my saving friends?

So, I want to decrease the amount of money we spend on groceries without actually significantly changing what we're buying. People totally do that right?

I just don't really know how. I mean, we try to buy things when they are a good price. We don't spend a crazy amount on food, it's probably pretty average for two people. I know we could be "saving" money by eating spaghetti every night, or rice a roni or something else equally non-appealing, but no. That's just not happening. If this is the only way I can use my degree right now, gosh darn it, we are going to eat well! But it would be nice to spend less.

Here's the thing though. I don't buy a lot of pre-made things, and I don't buy a lot of mixes. If you've been reading my blog for longer than two days, you are probably aware that I get a big kick out of cooking, and I just don't want to deprive myself of the fun of mixing together the ingredients all by myself. We don't really buy a lot of canned soup. I think it's gross. We buy rice, but not Rice a Roni sorts of stuff (see above). Basically, I buy ingredients to make meals, not necessarily things that are meals in and of themselves, with some exceptions. Like frozen burritos. Or Poptarts for Matthew. We also buy lots of cereal, and we like granola bars and certain crackers and chips. So, what I'm saying is that a lot of the things that I've seen coupons for are for types of things we don't generally buy.

Also, I like to buy a lot of fresh produce, which I also don't see a lot of coupons for. However, we do spend quite a bit on dairy, between Matthew's yogurt obsession, my cheese obsession, and both of our ice cream obsessions.

So, probably more information than necessary about our eating habits, to add to the probably more than necessary information you already know about what we eat. But seriously, how is it done? How do you spend less, using coupons or any other similar sort of tricks? Are there really that great of deals in Sunday papers, and if so, is it worth getting the paper for them?  Or is it only possible to find great deals on the pre-made stuff we don't usually buy? 

9 comments:

The Figgins said...

Sounds like there are things you could find coupons for (the premade stuff and possibly some of the dairy) but as far as reducing costs for produce you may just want to shop around, see if there are farmers markets during the summer and can some of the things you like a lot so even if it's not fresh you canned it yourself. It sounds like the way you cook you are probably already saving a lot by not using pre-prepared stuff.

rick and cheryl said...

I find farmers markets are more expensive (at least here) & our best store for produce is Sprouts. I know you guys have a Sunflower Market or something like that. And there was another store...maybe Heather or Kiersten rem'ber the name, but it had cheap produce. The bulk of our money goes there. And our Albies had such a great deal on Yoplait Yogurt this week-50c +coupons online for anywhere from $1 off 10 or 50c off of 6...anyway when you bought 20 you got a $2 off next shopping order & for every 10 you bought gave you a free dozen eggs. We bought like 80 yogurts...& at our house they won't go bad. Andrew has already had at least 10. It's almost all he eats. Have Heather start watching for you. But, start looking for Qs online. And our paper just started giving out the Sunday inserts for free-you can't order the paper to get it for free so I cancelled-see if your paper does something like that. Good luck!

rick and cheryl said...

Buy Low Market on University. Yeah, they have some cheap produce. Not sure if the quality is great & they have some other good deals this week. Maybe that is a place you already shop. I don't know...

Christa said...

I have the exact same problem. Why buy something just because there is a coupon for it if you wouldn't buy it otherwise? I try to balance out my meals for the week by having some meals that are cheap if we are going to have more expensive meals. I buy the cheapest brand of the product as long as it doesn't sacrifice quality too much. If something is a good price I usually buy extra. Let me know if you figure I out!

Sarah said...

I agree - I don't like the pre-packaged stuff much either and like to have a lot of produce. I try to buy my meat and freeze it, so I get more when it is on sale. I also got a Costco gift card for my birthday this year, and that has been cheaper for some things (some things actually aren't cheaper, or it is too much food for us). We buy string cheese, yogurt, nuts, and granola bars there. Also, didn't you do bountiful baskets during the summer? I have done that a few times and just got one this last weekend. I actually split it with some neighbors, but it is still quite a bit of food for $8. Anyways, those are some of the things that we do, but I also feel like I spend so much on food sometimes! But it is just so good!

Heather said...

Usually, once a month on coupons.com you can print out two coupons each of a 75cents off any milk, and $1 off any 2lb. of cheese. It's not much, but it is something. I am finding that Winco is cheapest for a lot of things. I really like their bulk section. Jen and Laura eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every morning. Seriously, I don't even have to add sugar, all I have to do is put some sprinkles on it (which I know is sugar) and they are happy as can be. And, I started buying yogurt in the big tub instead of the little ones. That doesn't work so well if Matthew is taking it in his lunch though. The deals are there, even on good for you food. You just have to watch. For example, today I got 8 lbs of strawberries for $5.

Or, if you didn't want 8 lbs, they were $1 a pound.

I think the paper is totally worth it. It helps if you get a good deal, like the $1 a week I have. I don't use every coupon that comes, I throw lots away, but I am brand sensitive on certain things, like toothpaste, toilet paper, feminine products, laundry detergent, and there are always coupons for those things. I could go on and on, I love finding good deals. I am probably not the best at it, but I do try to keep our food budget to half of what the govt says we should be spending on our family.

Heather said...

I know, I know I talk too much. This month (Nov.) should be a good one to stock up on your baking supplies. You guys have a costco card right. Lately, milk has been about thirty cents cheaper than the grocery stores and butter almost a dollar cheaper. Their 25lb bag of flour is cheap. But lots of things aren't.

Katrisha & Ryan said...

I think getting the paper is worth it if you are willing to put in the time to find good deals that you need. The key is buying what you really NEED though not just cause it is a good deal. And sometimes generic is still cheaper than a sale and coupon! Just depends on what you like. I have gotten the paper off and on for a while. You can try it for a month and then unsubscribe when you're burned out or not making your money back. I like using savvyshopperdeals.com. I get their emails and like them on facebook. I have gotten killer deals on things like cereal, pasta, baking goods, laundry, toothpaste, floss, a lot of stuff! I try to stock up when there is a good sale. We don't have a ton of space though... It's fun to save money but I also get lazy. You could spend so much time doing it! I kind of took a break when the baby was born. I need to get back into it...

Steve and Nicole said...

I don't know if someone said this already but Walmart price matches...so that's what I do every week. I keep the grocery ads that we get in the mail every week {Or all the ads are online} and on a flash card write all the deals I'll get down then when you go to check out you just say...I'm price matching and when they ring up something they'll say..how much? And you tell them. It's really easy and I tried couponing but this works better for us because like you said you get what you WANT and not just what the coupons are for. Plus you get ALL of the deals in one places instead of store hopping to get good deals.